Postal Service unveils new stamp to raise awareness for 'beloved marine mammal'

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Five rescued manatees are released back into the wild

Five rehabilitated manatees return to Florida waters after rehabilitation as part of the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership. (Credit: Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute)

The U.S. Postal Service unveiled a manatee-themed postage stamp to raise awareness about the need to protect the beloved marine mammal.

USPS will sell the "Save Manatees" stamp in post offices across the country beginning March 27, which is national Manatee Appreciation Day, the agency announced last week. The stamp depicts an underwater West Indian manatee, the breed that lives in Florida's inland waterways. 

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The U.S. Postal Service unveiled its new "Save Manatees" stamp which will be sold in post offices across the country beginning March. 27. (USPS)

"The Save Manatees stamp is being issued to create awareness about the threats posed to this beloved marine mammal," USPS wrote on its website. "Human vigilance is crucial for the protection of the threatened West Indian manatee—both to minimize motorboat strikes and to maintain the aquatic plants on which it feeds."

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Manatee populations have rebounded from their lowest point in the 1970s when only several hundred of the animals remained. In 2017, the species' status was upgraded from endangered to threatened but remains protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. 

The USPS stamp aims to raise awareness about the need to protect the beloved marine mammal from starvation and boat collisions.  (USPS)

It's estimated there are at least 13,000 manatees today, with more than 6,300 residing in Florida waters, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. But a recent surge in deaths of the docile creature has raised alarms. 

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"Toxic algae blooms, worsened by pollution, kill seagrass," wrote USPS. "In recent years, this loss of manatees’ primary food resources has led to starvation. Collisions with fast-moving watercraft can also prove fatal; almost all grown manatees bear scars from boat propellers."

This is the first time since 1996 the mammal will be featured on a USPS stamp.